 |
| The Philippines is big enough for someone feeling threatened to move to another place, says the HC |
A Filipina overstayer who sought to stop her deportation to the Philippines on the ground her former boyfriend would harm or kill her if she returned, failed in her bid to challenge Immigration’s decision to reject her application to remain in Hong Kong.
B. M. Banglayan, 38, had sought leave for a judicial
review against the decision of the Immigration Dirctor and affirmed by the
Torture Claims Adjudication Board in January 2019, to deny her non-refoulement
application, or against being sent back home.
Banglayan arrived as a tourist in Hong Kong on Aug.
12, 2015 and overstayed, but was arrested by the police on Sept. 22 of the same year.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
While being investigated by the Immigration
Department she filed a claim for non-refoulement, saying that if she was returned
to the Philippines she would be harmed
or killed by her former boyfriend for leaving him and putting an end to their
relationship.
She was released on recognizance while her claim was
being determined.
According to the applicant, she was born and raised
in Sagada, Mountain Province in the Philippines. After leaving school she began
dating her boyfriend who ran a garment business in Baguio Cty.
 |
| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
In 2012 she went to Singapore to work as a domestic helper
and on her return to the Philippines two years later her boyfriend proposed to
her and they agreed to live together in Baguio City before getting married.
While staying in his home, Banglayan said she found
out that her boyfriend was a drug addict and a drug dealer so she decided to
leave him. But when she told him that she did not want to go ahead with the
wedding her boyfriend got angry and beat her up.
After another beating she decided to flee to her
sister’s house, and later to Palawan. But when she heard that her boyfriend was
still looking for her she decided to leave the Philippines on Aug 17, 2015 and
sought refuge in Hong Kong.
 |
| Pindutin dito |
Following a hearing of her claim for
non-refoulement, the Immigration Director rejected the applicant’s application on
Mar 29, 2018 on all the applicable grounds, including risk of torture and
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and of her rights being violated under
Article 2 of the Bill of Rights.
In his decision, the Director said he found no
substantial grounds to believe that there was any real threat to her life at
the hands of her former boyfriend due to the low intensity and frequency of
past ill-treatment from him, or that he was still after her in all the years
that she was away from the country.
In any event it was a private relationship dispute
between them that could be addressed by the applicant seeking state or police
protection, said the Director.
Further, with the Philippines having more than 300,000 kilometers of territory and a large
population of 104 million it was reasonable to assume that the applicant could
relocate elsewhere to get away from the perceived threat from her boyfriend.
The applicant appealed the judgment to the TCAB but after an oral hearing, the Board decided to affirm the Director’s decision and dismiss
her appeal.
Subsequently Banglayan filed for permission for a judicial review of the Board’s decision but cited no new ground.
As such, Judge Bruno Chan declined her application,
saying that in the absence of any error of law or irrationality or procedural
unfairness in the Board’s decision-making process being clearly identified, “there
could be no reasonably arguable basis for her intended challenge.”
Judge Chan also reiterated the Director’s finding that the applicant was not entitled to protection from Hong Kong because the risk of harm she claimed was a localized one and it was not unreasonable to assume that it was safe for her to relocate to other parts of the Philippines
 |
| PADALA NA! |
.jpg) |
| PRESS FOR DETAILS |
